Rev. Brad Whitaker was Hamilton County’s first confirmed COVID-19 case. Church leaders and county health officials began notifying anyone who had come in contact with him. That list included Bishop Phoebe Roaf of the Episcopal Diocese of West Tennessee.

I’m worried about everyone. Not just my family, not just my friends, not just the people who work around me. But every single person I see.

When you’re on camera, your background and work area are visible. Don’t make them the star of the show. For instance, a home bar in the background or a TV screen on a freeze frame of "Game Of Thrones" reruns.

We are suffering the consequences of a delayed national response in the deployment of test kits and relatively limited access to basic protection equipment for health providers.

Common symptoms such as fever, cough and shortness of breath are touted by the CDC as clues that a person could be infected. In addition, there are new reports that patients with sudden anosmia, a loss of one’s sense of smell, could be infected with the virus.

There are no good answers now. Only bad choices and worse ones. But evidence suggests that going hard on social-distancing is the best long-term bet for both public health and the economy. 

Tomorrow when someone takes my temperature and hands me a mask and a paper bag, I’ll remember that everybody I’m about to see is also adjusting to new realities.

Many Memphis churches, particularly those with mostly African American congregations, have not suspended in-person worship, underscoring the importance the church has in African American life. But the ritual of gathering to worship, even in a spotlessly clean building, is now much too risky. 

Yesterday I scraped up someone’s leaky trash bags from the side of the road and threw them into the back of a truck to haul off. It’s hard to believe just two weeks ago I was planning parties, booking bands and editing menus.

With three hit singles, two turf-grabbing country covers, definitive secular and religious anthems and some of the most tender pop music ever recorded, 1973's "Call Me" is Al Green's finest moment.

Memphians are just audacious enough to think they can can find solutions. That’s what defines us as much as anything else. We roll up our sleeves. We innovate. And at a time when the model for local journalism is broken — but the need for local journalism is as keen as ever — Memphians have come up with a solution to that. But it needs you.

The good news for Tennesseans who want to bet legally on sports within the state’s borders is that, assuming the spring professional leagues reboot by late summer and college and pro football kick off this fall, the gambling apps really should be open in time.

For the next four weeks, Explore Bike Share rentals are free of charge to all Memphians, 24/7. 

Coronavirus has disrupted some of my friends’ lives far more than it’s unsettled mine. My senior friends won’t get to have graduation. And my international friends have a real dilemma: Should they stay in the States or go home?

Whatever you think of his policy priorities, Strickland prides himself on being a data-driven executive, and his managerial seriousness has served him, and the city, well in this unprecedented moment. 

We will soon stop daily deliveries to protect both our clients and our volunteers and staff. That’s why we’re working now to get as many frozen and shelf-stable meals into seniors’ homes as we can, in case a day comes when we can’t deliver at all.

If you love what you hear, let the mix play a few times to be sure the artists see a few pennies. Now is the time to buy that extra record, download an album instead of streaming it, spring for that cool T-shirt or koozie or sticker.

James S. Gilliland and Peter Formanek "changed the life trajectory for many of our students who are often first generation college-goers, and who would, otherwise, have little to no opportunity to contribute meaningfully in our society."

I’m working from home. Cleaning the closets. Playing with the dog. Calling my friends. Promising my children that I’ll stay home – or close to it. And learning how to balance the dread of what we don’t know and can’t see with the beauty of just being here.

Maps based on 2018 census data show concentrations of sensitive populations for hospitalization and death due to COVID-19.

“One of our biggest challenges is that many people don’t believe in the seriousness of this pandemic,” Catholic Bishop David Talley told colleagues in a webinar. “Please believe in what science is saying. This is not the devil. This is what science is telling us.”

A collection of old white men may sound like a Cabinet meeting in Washington or a Senate vote, but it was just another Tuesday and the regular meeting of my “and I’ll tell you another damn thing” lunch group.

“The people who are most vulnerable to COVID-19 are those over 60, those with significant chronic disease issues, and those who medications compromise their immune systems,” said Dr. Scott Morris. “Those are the people who go to church.”

While I was sitting in an oddly peaceful purgatory, people close to me have lost jobs and postponed weddings. I’ve eavesdropped on conversations about how to keep people employed while also keeping them safe. 

Taylor Berger and his partners made the hard decision to close Railgarten, Rec Room and Highland Axe & Rec. What does that mean for his 100 employees? And what does that mean for the rest of us?